Strategies and Solutions Webcast - wefnet.org and Solutions for Workforce Issues...communication...

8/13/2012

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Strategies and Solutions for Addressing Today’s Workforce Issues

August 14th, 2012

Water Workforce Issues & The Impact on Training

Needs

Melanie Fahrenbruch, M.Ed.MJF Consulting, [email protected]

OUTLINE• The National Need

– Research

– Top Six Issues

• Get Into Water! Project Highlights– The

RMSAWWA/RMWEA Supervisory Certificate Program

– Career Mapping

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THE NATIONAL NEED

What are waters’ Top 10 Inadequately addressed issues?

• Regulatory

• Business Issues

• Source Water

• Infrastructure

• Security

Source: AWWA 2011 State of the Industry Report

• Water Treatment

• Workforce

• Macro Factors

• Leadership

• Consumer

THE NATIONAL NEED

Waters’ Top 10 most inadequately addressed issues:

1. Business Factors

2. Infrastructure

3. Source Water

4. Workforce

5. Regulatory

6. Leadership

7. Security

8. Water Treatment

9. Macro Factors

10. Consumer


THE NATIONAL NEED…25% of operators eligible to retire

between 2009-2014


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THE NATIONAL NEED

• Workforce Reduction– Over $1 million in research

– Overall concern tempered by slow economy

– Guess what? They are leaving now!

THE NATIONAL NEED

• Work for Water Campaign (AWWA, WEF)

THE NATIONAL NEED

• The Boomer Market– 76.4 million baby boomers

– Leading-edge boomers turned 65 in 2011

– Another baby boomer turns 60 every eight seconds

– By 2030, 70 million Americans will be 65+, and will comprise 20-25% of the US population

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Source: Arapahoe/Douglas Works

THE NATIONAL NEED

• Gaps in Competency-Based Training– How can there be a gap? There is so much

training available.

– How do we know there is a gap?• In Colorado….the most frequent cause of

failure was related to a distribution system deficiency and constituted 43 (%) of all Acute Team responses*

• 28Certification Exam Performance– Colorado Water Distribution Level 4 pass rate: 17%

THE NATIONAL NEED

– How is Colorado addressing the gap?

• Move to an outcomes-based, learner-centered approach

• Colorado Department of Health and Environment with RMSAWWA: 2015 Training Strategy and Administrative Framework

• ABC NTKC Prioritization and Usage Guidelines

• Core Curriculum Program Plan w/Colorado Competency Model

• Colorado Water Careers Roadmap

• Train the Trainer Program

• Training Assessment Program

• Web Portal

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THE NATIONAL NEED

• Lack of Supervisory Skills– The number one reason

people leave their job is—”uncaring and unprofessional managers; overworking staff; no respect, not listening, putting people in wrong jobs; speed over quality; poor manager selection processes.”*

• Competition with other industries

*Source: IAAP

GET INTO WATER!

• Mission: The water and wastewater industry will sufficiently recruit, train and retain personnel to ensure mission-critical positions are filled with qualified, trained & technically skilled employees

– Drinking Water Treatment Operators

– Wastewater Treatment Plant operators

– Wastewater Collection Operators

– Water Distribution Operators

– SCADA/Instrumentation Control Operators

GET INTO WATER!

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GET INTO WATER!

• The Industry Advisory Council (IAC), comprised of Front Range water and wastewater utilities, desires to focus exclusively on these operations-level positions. We intend to focus on sustainable programs and activities that will add value to employers and potential employees at times of high and low unemployment.

GET INTO WATER!

• Funding by Colorado Department of Labor and Employment

• “Sector Grant”

• Total funding $575,000, plus in-kind and cash provided by utilities, associations

GET INTO WATER!

• Sector grants are designed to: – Help the state and its businesses stay strong

and diverse

– Build a Gold Collar and STEM-ready workforce that is essential to sustaining the state economy

– Help fill the gap left by the 1.2 million 65+ workers estimated to retire in the next two decades

– Offer a “Grow Our Own” solution

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GET INTO WATER!

Research-Primary Data– Colorado Workforce Survey

(Although a four-county project, survey sent to all Colorado utilities) AWWA State of the Industry Report

– Water Research Foundation Reports

– Utility-Specific Data from Industry Advisory Council

– Occupation Data and Related Available Workforce

GET INTO WATER!

• GOAL #1: Training

– Conduct and promote training programs to ensure mission critical positions are filled with qualified, trained and technically skilled personnel.

• GOAL #2: Outreach and Recruitment

– Conduct adequate outreach and recruitmentefforts to ensure interest in, and attraction to, mission-critical positions.

GET INTO WATER!

• GOAL # 3: HR/Operations Collaboration– Enhance collaboration, education and

communication between operations staff and human resource professionals to create a positive culture for workforce development.

• GOAL #4: Knowledge Management– Conduct knowledge management and

employee retention efforts to ensure mission critical personnel have the knowledge and skills to operate effectively.

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GET INTO WATER!

• RMSAWWA/RMWEA Supervisory Certificate Program– There are increasing opportunities for

qualified candidates to fill supervisor positions that are being vacated

• Soft Skills Only-Classroom, Web, Conference

Source: Get Into Water Project

GET INTO WATER!

• Eight-month cohort program

• 20 participants for the first year

• Curriculum developed using grant funding

– Complete with facilitator’s guide

• 60 contact hours

• Focused on soft-skill

development

• Executive Coaching

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GET INTO WATER!

• Supervisory Certificate Program Content– Self-Awareness: Insight to Action

– The RMSAWWA/WEA Annual Conference: A Learning Laboratory

– Communications and the Role of the Supervisor – Part 1

– The Role of the Supervisor – Part 2

– The Role of the Supervisor – Part 3: When Things Go South

– Organizational Culture & Leadership Styles: Your Secret to Success

– A Virtual Forum: Meet the Executives

– Putting It All Together

GET INTO WATER!

Thank You!

Melanie Fahrenbruch, M.Ed.

President, MJF Consulting LLC

[email protected]

303-912-3358

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Today’s Presenters

• Jim Ginley, Senior Consultant, Red Oak Consulting, an ARCADIS Group

• Melanie Fahrenbruch, M.Ed., MJF Consulting, LLC

• James Mcpherson, Training Coordinator, Union Sanitary District

• Jeff Oxenford, Managing Analyst, Stratus Consulting

• Tyler Richards, Deputy Director of Operations, Gwinnett County, Georgia Water Resources

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N

UNION CITY

680

880

84

NEWARKFREMONT

UNION CITYUSD

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TASKSTASKSWhat do I have to

do?

KNOWLEDGEWhat do I

have to know?

JOB COMPETENCY REQUIRMENTS

(JCR)

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Using Knowledge Management to Address

Workforce Issues

Prepared by:

Jeff OxenfordStratus Consulting

Boulder, CO

Acknowledgements

• AWWA Knowledge Management Subcommittee of the Workforce Strategies Committee

• Knowledge Management Committee of the Rocky Mountain Section of AWWA

• Get Into Water

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What Are the Workforce Challenges that Are Driving Knowledge

Management?

1. Preventing Knowledge Loss

• Is there danger in losing key operating and other organizational knowledge (e.g. history)?– Baby Boomer retirements

– Competition with other industries for skilled employees

2. Keeping Up

• Do we have people who have the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors needed to do the job now and to meet future requirements?– Tightening health and safety,

environmental, and water quality regulations

– Changing facilities, technologies, and equipment

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3. Continual Improvement

• Are we providing existing staff with opportunities for continual professional development and a culture that encourages innovation and continuous improvement? – Increasing customer expectations

– Developing culture to support improvement

4. Supporting the Workforce

• Are we adequately supporting existing staff to ensure they have the information they need, when they need it? – Finding information when it’s needed

– Provide information to workers in the field

– Developing systems to capture, store, and manage content

Workforce Knowledge Challenges(ranked very important)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Retiring employees New technology Finding info Hiring new History

ALL

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Keeping up with new technology

Keeping up with new

requirements

Supporting existing workforce

Continual improvement

Preventing knowledge loss

Importance of Knowledge Management

Stage of Knowledge Management Implementation

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How to Get Started?

1. Define Knowledge Management for Your Organization

• Ensure that “the right people have the right skills and information at the right time to perform work needed”

• Formalized program for collecting information and capturing knowledge and experience in a tangible, easily assessable, and user friendly formatthat can be managed and used over time

• KM is a combination of people, processes, and technology

2. Treat Knowledge Management Like Any Other Project

• Needs assessment

• Implementation

• Sticking with it

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Needs Assessment

• Identify mission-critical functions and job categories

• Assess the culture of your organization

• Assess effectiveness of knowledge processes (access, transfer, sharing)

Rating of the Current Effectiveness (% rated very effective)

Implementation

• Develop a phased approach that fits with your organization and how employees access information

• Create learning opportunities

• Encourage a culture of sharing information

• Identify champions

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Sticking to It

• Recognize that this process is– Long term

– Will have ups/downs or ebbs/flows

– Requires maintenance

3. Select Appropriate Tool or Suite of Tools

1. Mentorships/apprenticeships

2. Staff development training programs

3. Competency based training

4. Communities of practice

5. Knowledge sharing systems

6. Video capture

Knowledge Management Activities

• Very interested in obtaining assistance

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Type of Knowledge Management Activities

• Standard operating procedures (SOPs)

• Training (cross training, attend regional seminars, leadership, topical lunch seminars)

• Meetings (to share information)

• Apprentice, mentoring, and internship programs

• Content management (scanning documents)

• Work order system, O+M software, GIS, mapping, SCADA

• Succession planning

The Future

• Addressing knowledge needs with changing demographics

• Understanding and addressing barriers to the use of future knowledge management technologies

• Continuing the discussion on Knowledge Management best practices

Final Thoughts

• Knowledge is an asset and should be managed as a asset (develop a formal program)

• Provide operators with the information they need, when they need it, in a format they need

• Design knowledge management processes and systems around people

• Loss of knowledge is a significant threat to efficient and effective operations

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For More Information

Jeff [email protected]

303-381-8286

http://www.workforwater.org/

http://www.getintowaterco.org/knowledge-management-resources/

Case Study of Knowledge Retention

Gwinnett County, GA

Tyler Richards

BackgroundGwinnett County’s Department of Water Resources (GCDWR) serves approximately 800,000 customers.

GCDWR provides three core services: producing and distributing drinking water; collecting and treating wastewater; and managing storm water.

• 2 large water treatment facilities

• 3 large wastewater treatment facilities

• 226 wastewater pump stations

• 2,931 miles sewer pipe

• 3,665 miles of distribution pipe

• 1,320 miles of stormwater pipe

.

F. W. Hill WRC

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System GrowthGwinnett County DWR

Water Distribution System Growth

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005

Cu

mm

ula

tive

len

gth

, mi.

~800 mi.

~1460 mi.

~2260 mi.

~3200 mi.

Now: 60% of Operations Management Team can Retirewithin 3 years (20% of all Operations Employees).

Deputy DirectorOperations

Division DirectorWater Reclamation

SuperintendentHill WRC

SuperintendentYellow River WRC

SuperintendentCrooked Creek WRC

ManagerPump Stations

Division DirectorField Operations

ManagerField Crews

ManagerField PM

ManagerContracts

Division DirectorWater Production

Operations ManagerShoal Creek WTF

Operations ManagerLanier WTF

Maintenance ManagerWater Production

• Loss of Asset Knowledge

• Loss of System or Technical Knowledge

Problem:

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Problem:

Digital Format


Problem:

Digital FormatGIS/CMMS (Lucity) for LinearAssets

Steve

Distribution System Expert – 23 years

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Steve

How do we get information out of his head and into GIS?

David BeasonTrades Coord / Dist

Joey McdanielTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Carlyle JacobMaint Tech II

David HenningtonMaint Tech II

Clifford DansbyTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Jason GalofaroMaint Tech III

Wayne DavisMaint Tech II

Nick BoydTrades Supervisor/Foreman

Alonzo TravisMaint Tech III

Ron SchoenMaint Tech II

Ralph MinceyTrades Assoc II

Leak Investigator

Charleson OwensMaint Tech II

Dump Truck Driver

Mike PorchakTrades Coord / Dist

Cheryl MabreyTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Jason WhiteMaint Tech II

George BolofMaint Tech III

Darrin FeaginsTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Austin OdeyMaint Tech II

Brian JonesMaint Tech II

David MartinTrades Supervisor/Foreman

Scott KirkbrideMaint Tech II

Jason TorreyMaint Tech II

Jeff NelsonTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Matthew ZukuskyMaint Tech II

Shawn JordanMaint Tech IIr

Dump Truck Driver

Darrel FrostTrades Assoc II/Leak Investigator

Jon PenlandTrades Coord/ Dist

Stacey WilsonTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Greg ScottMaint Tech II

Matthew HoweMaint Tech I

Kenneth HallTrades Supervisor

Foreman/Landscape crew

Dustin BramlettMaint Tech II

VacantMaint Tech II

Mike HammondTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Nathan FarmerMaint Tech II

Nelson TaylorMaint Tech II

Roman ArevaloMaint Tech II

Kenneth MatthewsMaint Tech II

Dump Truck Driver

Frank HowlandTrades Coordinator,

Meter Install/Distribution

Anthony (Ricky) TaylorTrades Supervisor/ Foreman

Larry BalesMaint Tech II

Steve GarmonMaint Tech II

Chris NeidlingerTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Leon AlexanderMaint Tech II

Joseph ReddickTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Jeremy BrewerMaint Tech II

John MizeMaint Tech II

Greg MajorTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Vacant 2/26Maint Tech II

Larry TaylorMaint Tech III

David BomblynTrades Assoc II

Leak Investigator

Tony ShealeyTrades CoordColl Hydro Jet

Todd WarrenMaint Tech III(temporary fill)

Michael JamesMain Tech II

VacantMain Tech II

Don StillMaint Tech III

Charles ThompsonMaint Tech II

Tim McDanielMaint Tech III

Kyle DukeMaint Tech II

Todd WarrenMaint Tech II

Joseph BraseltonMaint Tech III

Tom EwingMaint Tech II

Robert RappMaint Tech III

Randall HallMaint Tech II

Morris SmithMaint Tech III

Scott WalravenMaint Tech II

Patrick RoachTrades Supervisor MH Crew

Darrie FaulknerMaint Tech II

VacantMaint Tech II

Willis ManisTrades Coord/

Coll Repair & Maint

Martin ValentineTrades Supervisor/ARV

Scott JonesMaint Tech II

Kyle ConnerMaint Tech II

VacantMaint Tech II

Mike LutherTrades Supervisor

Kevin EdwardsMaint Tech II

VacantMaint Tech II

Phillip PageTrades Supervisor

Steve SimsMaint Tech III

Mike PirtleMaint Tech II

Larry DobbsTrades Supervisor

Roger FlaveneyMaint Tech III

James SmithMaint Tech II

Howard NormanMaint Tech II

Algie CollierTrades Supervisor

Johnny BaileyMaint Tech III

Terry YardMaint Tech II

Zach SosebeeTrades Cood/TV

(temporary filled)

Brad SladeTrades Supervisor/TV

Josh KingTrades Assoc III

Kevin TrevorsTrades Assoc III

VacantTrades Supervisor/TV

Michael FinleyTrades Assoc III

Kevin GazawayTrades Assoc III

Mark LongTrades Supervisor/TV

Marian CruceruTrades Assoc III

Tommy WilliamsTrades Assoc III

Distribution System Manager

Collection System Manager

Steve over 51 distribution employees – 24 hour job

Field PMManager

Field CrewManager



Foreman




Foreman








Foreman




Foreman







Dump Truck Driver

Tony ShealeyTrades CoordColl Hydro Jet

Todd WarrenMaint Tech III(temporary fill)

Michael JamesMain Tech II

VacantMain Tech II

Don StillMaint Tech III

Charles ThompsonMaint Tech II

Charleson OwensMaint Tech II

Dump Truck Driver

Tim McDanielMaint Tech III

Kyle DukeMaint Tech II

Todd WarrenMaint Tech II

Joseph BraseltonMaint Tech III

Tom EwingMaint Tech II

Robert RappMaint Tech III

Randall HallMaint Tech II

Ralph MinceyTrades Assoc II

Leak Investigator

Darrel FrostTrades Assoc II/Leak Investigator

Shawn JordanMaint Tech IIr

Dump Truck Driver

Willis ManisTrades Coord/

Coll Repair & Maint

Martin ValentineTrades Supervisor/ARV

Scott JonesMaint Tech II

Kyle ConnerMaint Tech II

VacantMaint Tech II

Mike LutherTrades Supervisor

Kevin EdwardsMaint Tech II

VacantMaint Tech II

Phillip PageTrades Supervisor

Steve SimsMaint Tech III

Mike PirtleMaint Tech II

Larry DobbsTrades Supervisor

Roger FlaveneyMaint Tech III

James SmithMaint Tech II

Howard NormanMaint Tech II

Jeff NelsonTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Matthew ZukuskyMaint Tech II

Zach SosebeeTrades Cood/TV

(temporary filled)

Brad SladeTrades Supervisor/TV

Josh KingTrades Assoc III

Kevin TrevorsTrades Assoc III

VacantTrades Supervisor/TV

Michael FinleyTrades Assoc III

Kevin GazawayTrades Assoc III

Mark LongTrades Supervisor/TV

Marian CruceruTrades Assoc III

Tommy WilliamsTrades Assoc III

Mike HammondTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Nathan FarmerMaint Tech II

Nelson TaylorMaint Tech II

Roman ArevaloMaint Tech II

Jon PenlandTrades Coord/ Dist

Stacey WilsonTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Greg ScottMaint Tech II

Matthew HoweMaint Tech I

Kenneth HallTrades Supervisor

Foreman/Landscape crew

Dustin BramlettMaint Tech II

VacantMaint Tech II

Patrick RoachTrades Supervisor MH Crew

Darrie FaulknerMaint Tech II

VacantMaint Tech II

Algie CollierTrades Supervisor

Johnny BaileyMaint Tech III

Terry YardMaint Tech II

Frank HowlandTrades Coordinator,

Meter Install/Distribution

Anthony (Ricky) TaylorTrades Supervisor/ Foreman

Larry BalesMaint Tech II

Steve GarmonMaint Tech II

Chris NeidlingerTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Leon AlexanderMaint Tech II

Joseph ReddickTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Jeremy BrewerMaint Tech II

John MizeMaint Tech II

Greg MajorTrades Supervisor

Foreman

Vacant 2/26Maint Tech II

Larry TaylorMaint Tech III

David BomblynTrades Assoc II

Leak Investigator

Morris SmithMaint Tech III

Scott WalravenMaint Tech II

Combined distribution and collection field crewsSteve put over preventive maintenance and asset GPS

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Field PMManager



Foreman




Foreman








Foreman




Foreman







Dump Truck Driver

• GPS assets• Leak Detection• Valve Exercising• CCTV• Special Projects

Field PM Groups Role

Benefits – 2 years• Able to reduce ‘unknown’ attributes for distribution

assets from 18% to <1% of assets, increased # assets in GIS

• Special Projects Completed– Tested for possible interconnections with other systems

– Cathode Protection Test Sites (were homeless assets)

– Resolving billing meters in GIS versus actually billed

• Have a preventive maintenance programs in place and expanding– Leak detection

– Valve exercising

– Pipe and manhole inspection


• Loss of System or Technical Knowledge

Problem:

KNOWLEDGE TEAMSSOGs

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Knowledge Teams26 year Engineer for Water Production was going to

retire in a year

• Formed a “Pressure Management Team” Retiring Engineer Operations Tech Support Engineer (new) Water System Modeler Distribution System Technician

• Team reviewed system operation and initiated improvements Decreased overall pressure Implemented new pressure zones Calibrated water facility meters Worked with facility staff to optimize operations Reviewed energy usage

Results:

• Information about water system operationswas transferred to the “Team”

• Improvements to the system were made andare ongoing including Reducing pressure transients Decreasing power usage Increasing communications between

water production facility and distribution

Conclusion

• There is no one ‘best’ way to ensure knowledgeis transferred

• Knowledge can be captured in many ways Digitally – GIS, CMMS, SCADA Written - SOGs or SOPs Team knowledge transfer or individual to individual

• Gwinnett grew very rapidly in 1980’s and 90’s, we needed to rapidly move from a mom and pop business model to a more sophisticated model.

Deliberative knowledge capture is part of that effort

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Questions?

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